Eames House Conservation Project

The Eames House and Studio (Case Study House no. 8) is an internationally renowned and highly influential work of modern architecture. Designed by Charles and Ray Eames under Arts and Architecture magazine’s Case Study Program, it is today one of the most intact of the Case Study Houses. The Eameses moved into the house in December of 1949 and lived there for the rest of their lives.

Located in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Case Study House No. 8 is set on a bluff above Pacific Coast Highway. The Eames House consists of two structures, a living space and a working space, connected by an open courtyard. The house and studio, which are nestled between a hillside and a row of stately eucalyptus trees, enjoy views across a wide meadow to the ocean beyond. The standard, light, factory steel framing forms a delicate web, which is filled with a variety of materials—transparent and translucent glass, and opaque panels, some brightly painted and others a soft gray. The house is filled with a diverse array of furnishings and objects that Ray and Charles Eames collected throughout their lives. Toys, folk art, brightly colored textiles, seashells, and stones sit comfortably alongside antiques, abstract expressionist paintings, and Eames-designed furnishings. The house and studio, including the living room and kitchen interior furnishings, appear today much as they did upon Ray Eames's death in 1988.

The Eames House is more than a great work of architecture. The house and studio, site, and interior collections are interconnected and together they tell a remarkable story about the architecture of this period, including the role of California modernism within an international context, and provide an intimate view into the Eameses lives and work, opening a new understanding about the human side of modernism. Its architectural, historical, and cultural significance has been recognized through its designation as a US National Historic Landmark (2006) and a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument (1988).

The site is now owned and managed as a house museum by the Charles and Ray Eames House Preservation Foundation (Eames Foundation), a nonprofit established to preserve and protect the site and use it to celebrate Charles and Ray Eames’ legacy.

• Demonstrate the applicability of internationally recognized conservation methodologies to the care and management of modern heritage through the example of the Eames House.
• Guide the Eames Foundation in the long-term conservation, maintenance, and care of the buildings, collections, and setting through development of a conservation management plan.
• Conduct and commission a series of on-site investigations and assessments at the Eames House to inform conservation planning and treatment.
• Build on the Conservation Institute's work in managing collections in hot, humid, and marine climates to understand the current environment in and around the house and make recommendations on the best conservation conditions that also meet the Eames Foundation’s interpretation and presentation needs.
• Advance the practice of conserving modern houses in general through practical demonstration at the Eames House via dissemination, education, and capacity building.
• Use the work completed under the Eames House Conservation Project as a case study in training courses.
• Get input from a wide range of professionals by engaging the services of both local and international experts.

The Eames Foundation, which is responsible for the house, is committed to providing a sustainable long-term approach to the care of the site, buildings, and collections in their care. In 2011, the foundation created the 250 Year Project to focus attention on the Eames House’s current and future conservation needs. This project’s goal is to maintain and sustain the site as a house museum that will continue to welcome the public and tell the story of Charles and Ray Eames for future generations. The foundation sought the Getty Conservation Institute’s advice at the onset of the project to help guide their work.

Beginning in 2011, the Conservation Institute undertook and advised on a series of investigations and treatments to a range of building components and materials. It provided the Eames Foundation with information on how to move forward with some critical repairs. The need for comprehensive long-term planning quickly became apparent. The Institute committed to developing a conservation management plan that recognized the interconnectedness of the buildings, landscape, and collection and took holistic approach to the site. The conservation management plan was completed in 2018. Since then, the Conservation Institute and the Eames Foundation have continued to work collaboratively on a number of projects.

Carlberg Associates, Donald F. Dickerson Associates, Escher GuneWardena Architecture, GML Heritage, Leighton Consulting, Watson and Henry Associates

Former team members: Ana Paula Arato Gonçalves, Drew Barnhart, Beril Bicer-Simsir, Foekje Boersma, David Carson, Sara Galerne, Arlen Heginbotham, Herant Khanjian, Tom Learner, Emily MacDonald-Korth, Shin Maekawa, Laura Matarese, Joy Mazurek, Kyle Normandin, Alan Phenix, Luise Rellensmann, Rachel Rivenc, Candace Wai